Isle of Man
'Basics' The Isle of Man has two mobile operators: * Manx Telecom ''' * '''Sure Telecom Their 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 2100 MHz and 4G/LTE has started on the 1800 MHz band. Manx Telecom used to have a better coverage and speed compared to Sure Telecom. But in 2017 Sure has 75% coverage of 4G+ compared to MT’s 4%. Like in the UK, prepaid is locally called pay-as-you-go and available without any registration. Be aware that the Isle of Man is not '''part of the UK, nor the EU or EEA, where from June 2017 new international roaming rules are enforced. So roaming rates on many European SIM cards are '''not capped or regulated there and can be much higher. Some providers, mostly from the UK, however voluntarily treat the Isle of Man as an EU territory, but others like O2 UK have ceased to do so. Better check your EU/EEA provider first before use or buy a local SIM card instead When roaming in the UK with a SIM card from the Isle, it's important that you turn off your general mobile data as well as data roaming. Because UK networks are also +44, your handset may recognise this as a local network option and could be using data without you knowing, resulting in unexpected bill shock on your return as Isle of Man providers still charge between 10p and 60p per MB for UK data roaming. 'Manx Telecom' Manx is the first provider and market leader on the island. It started with 4G/LTE in 2014 on 1800 MHz and covers already 99% of the population. In 2015 it was opened for prepaid, but you need a 4G-enabled SIM card. 'Availability' The starter pack for Pay-as-you-go is available for £5 in their shops in Douglas (location). You can buy sim card in airport at Information desk. It includes £5 credit and is available in mini, micro and nano size. Try to get one of their new 4G-enabled SIM cards for LTE. Top-ups can be made by credit card online or using vouchers in denominations of £5, £10, and £20 on sale island-wide from a range of outlets including newsagents, garages, post offices and the Manx Telecom shop (location map). To top-up by voucher, enter *#142*# and . SIM card and credit will stay for 90 days. If you don't do any activites within, it will fall in passive mode with incoming calls/texts only. You have another 90 days grace period to wake it up again by a recharge. 'Data feature packs' The standard rate outside of packages is a high 50p per MB. They give data allowances as a free bonus on top-ups (bonuses only for online top-ups). Better choose "Go Surf" instead of "Go Chat" top-ups for more data. These "Go Surf" top-ups are available: Voice and data are given out as "free bonuses" with a very limited validity shown in the table. On top of this, the recharge face value is added as well and valid for 90 days, but can only be used at the high default rate. Included minutes include all Isle of Man mobile lines. Data Roaming Data roaming is always charged per MB as there are no roaming packages available: * 10p per MB in UK, Ireland and Channel Islands * 40p per MB in EU/EEA countries, * 96p per MB in popular countries outside the EU (eg. Canada, USA, Australia, Russia) * a whopping £7.20 per MB elsewhere. A list shows where data roaming is available in 4G. 'More info' *APN: internet *Website: http://www.manxtelecom.com/ 'Sure Telecom' Sure is the second provider on the island. It still gives a good coverage. 4G/LTE has started in 2014 and is open for prepaid, but not so widespread available. 'Availability' Their pay-as-you-go SIM card is free and activated when you top up at least £5. They sell it in their shops and outlets (pdf list), but nano and micro SIMs are only available at Sure shops. They offer two PAYG plans * The Classic Plan: data stays always on the 5p per MB base rate without any bonuses offered * The Rewards Plan: bonus packages shown in the table below are offered for top-ups, default use outside these allowances is 10p per MB instead Unlike Manx Telecom with Sure top-ups stay valid for 180 days. 'Data feature packs' Their standard data rates are 5p per MB on the Classic plan and 10p per MB on the Rewards plan. The Classic plan always stays on the default rate, the Rewards plan can be added by these packages with bonuses for top-ups: Minutes and SMS include all Isle of Man mobile lines. The top-up face value is added additionally, stays valid for 180 days, but can only be used at the high default rate. Data Roaming Data roaming is charged per MB by default: * 60p per MB in UK, Ireland and Channel Islands * 60p per MB in EU/EEA countries, * £7.20 per MB in popular countries outside the EU (eg. Canada, USA, Australia, Russia) * £14.40-17 per MB elsewhere. They offer an "away booster" for £5 to reduce rates to 12p per MB in the UK and and 30p/MB in the EU. For roaming in the UK, Ireland and France only, they offer two combo packs for top-ups: * top-up of £10: 1 GB, 100 mins and 100 SMS for 14 days * top-up of £20: 2 GB, 200 mins and 200 SMS for 30 days 'More info' *APN: internet *Website: http://web.sure.com/isleofman Category:Country Category:Europe Category:9/18